U.S. Okinawa base will be allowed to move after 17-year deadlock

By Yoko Wakatsuki and Ben Brumfield, CNN

Updated 2345 GMT (0745 HKT) December 27, 2013

Photos: Marine Corps Air Station Futenma9 photos

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – An aerial view of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan. Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima approved landfill work on December 27 to relocate the controversial U.S. military base, breaking 17 years of stagnation on the base's transfer plan, the government of Okinawa said Friday.

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Photos: Marine Corps Air Station Futenma9 photos

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – Hundreds of protesters stage a rally opposing the approval of the relocation in the lobby of Okinawa prefecture's government building in Naha on Friday, December 27. The Futenma air base, which is in a highly populated area, has been unpopular with the island's residents because of crimes committed by U.S. military personnel and allegations against them in the past.

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Photos: Marine Corps Air Station Futenma9 photos

Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – Japan-based Marines board an aircraft for areas hit by Typhoon Haiyan hit in the Philippines at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on November 10.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – MV-22 Osprey aircraft head for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station on August 12, as the U.S. military resumed transport of Ospreys from the Iwakuni base after a fatal helicopter crash.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – An Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft flies over Ginowan on August 3, heading for the Futenma Air Station for additional deployment. The stagnation of the relocation issue has been a thorn in the side of relations between Tokyo and Washington since 1996, when the two governments agreed on the original plan to move the base.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – A U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft is seen through the window of another Osprey at Futenma on August 3.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – Two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft land at Futenma for additional deployment on August 3.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – An evening view of Futenma on April 5.

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Marine Corps Air Station Futenma – An area off the shore of the Henoko district of Nago, northern Okinawa. Nakaima approved the Japanese government's application to reclaim land for a new base in Henoko, which would replace the U.S. Marine Corps base in Futenma, a more congested part of Okinawa's main island, Japanese media reported.

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Story highlights

The Pentagon praises the move as a "significant milestone"

Regional governor OKs a landfill proposal to permit construction of new military facilities

Plan would take Futenma air base away from a more populated area

Actions of U.S. service personnel have made base unpopular with residents

A Japanese governor has approved a measure to allow for the relocation of a controversial U.S. military base on Okinawa, breaking 17 years of stagnation on the base's transfer plan, the government of Okinawa said Friday.

The Okinawa prefecture's Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima on Friday approved a landfill proposal by the Japanese central government that will permit the construction of new military facilities in a sparsely populated area.

The Pentagon praised the move.

"This decision comes after many years of sustained effort between the United States and Japan, and it is the most significant milestone achieved in these realignment efforts so far," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a written statement, which the Pentagon initially attributed to Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, before correcting it.

"The realignment effort is absolutely critical to the United States' ongoing rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and our ability to maintain a geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and politically sustainable force posture in the region."

The Futenma air base, which is in a highly populated area,has been unpopular with the island's residents due to crimes committed by U.S. military personnel and allegations against them in the past.

Many residents were incensed by the rape of a 12-year-old Japanese girl in 1995 by three U.S. military personnel. It sparked some of the worst anti-U.S. military demonstrations seen in Japan in decades.